The GOP's bad boys

The bad boys of the Republican Party are back, and it’s causing big problems for Speaker John Boehner.

Not since the days of the Jack Abramoff scandal a decade ago have so many House GOP lawmakers garnered this many scandalous headlines in such a short a period of time. And while it hasn’t altered the overall political landscape for House Republicans — they are still expected to pick up seats in November — it is causing some nervous moments inside GOP leadership.

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On Monday, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) will be hit with more than a dozen federal criminal charges related to his ownership of a health food restaurant in Manhattan, according to two sources close to the case. Grimm, a former undercover FBI agent, owned the restaurant after he left the bureau in 2006 until he was elected to the House in 2010. The indictment will cover criminal actions allegedly taken by Grimm during that period, the sources said.

The charges against Grimm will include mail and wire fraud, filing false tax returns and health care payments, hiring undocumented workers, obstruction of justice and a slew of other criminal allegations, the sources added.

Grimm’s troubles are just the latest high-profile bad behavior in the House. Just before Congress left town for a two-week Easter recess, a video surfaced showing recently elected Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) in a romantic embrace with a now-former aide — prompting calls by top Republicans in the state for the married lawmaker to resign. Earlier this year, Rep. Trey Radel (R-Fla.) pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor cocaine possession charge. He ultimately relinquished his seat.

Neither Boehner nor any of his top lieutenants have spoken to Grimm yet, according to senior aides, but the indictment will cause a sizable headache for the speaker and his leadership team.

If, as expected, the Grimm indictment covers just his restaurant-related activities, Boehner may be unable or unwilling — due to his own internal GOP politics — to call on Grimm to resign. Instead, Boehner would likely try to duck the issue and say it will be resolved by Grimm, his constituents and the Justice Department.

Boehner will also point out that the indictment covers a period before Grimm became a member of Congress, meaning that it really isn’t his or the House’s business. No one in leadership is looking forward to answering questions on the matter.

“It’s a total mess,” said a House GOP leadership aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The filing deadline for New York has already closed, meaning Grimm will almost certainly be on the ballot this November and give Democrats a great pickup opportunity on Election Day.

“We were prepared to deal with the ‘He’s under investigation’; we dealt with that last cycle,” the Republican aide noted. “But I don’t know how we deal with Grimm being indicted and just sitting there. It’s a nightmare.”

Federal prosecutors had been looking into Grimm’s fundraising during his 2010 campaign for Congress, including hundreds of thousands of dollars the New York Republican raked in from the followers of an obscure Israeli rabbi, but this indictment is not expected to include anything related to those donations. A superseding indictment covering that part of the Grimm probe is still possible, although it is not clear if that will happen, said a source familiar with the matter.

Ofer Biton, a Grimm business associate affiliated with the restaurant who also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Grimm’s 2010 campaign, recently pleaded guilty to a federal visa violation and is cooperating with prosecutors. Another Grimm fundraiser was recently arrested for allegedly using “straw donors” to funnel more than $10,000 in donations to Grimm’s campaign.

Grimm’s attorney has slammed the pending indictment, and Grimm’s friends and colleagues predict he will fight the charges in court and on the campaign trail.

“When the dust settles, he will be vindicated,” Grimm’s lawyer, William McGinley of the law firm Patton Boggs, said last week after news of the pending Grimm indictment surfaced. “Until then, he will continue to serve his constituents with the same dedication and tenacity that has characterized his lifetime of public service as a member of Congress, Marine Corps combat veteran and decorated FBI special agent.”

During the past five months, Boehner and his leadership team have moved cautiously when faced with high-profile scandals, as is Boehner’s way. The Ohio Republican doesn’t like appearing to have been forced into action by Democrats or the news media, but he also wants to show that he doesn’t tolerate unethical behavior. Boehner had his own run-ins with ethics cases earlier in his career, both as a victim and a defendant, and he watched how an earlier era of Republican rule ended in ethics probes and guilty pleas. He’s vowed not to let it happen on his watch.